Va. police: Driver flees DUI checkpoint, kills mother of two

COEBURN, Va. (AP) - State police say a mother of two young children was killed by a driver who tried to avoid a drunken-driving checkpoint in southwest Virginia.

Police say the crash occurred Friday afternoon on Route 58 in the town of Coeburn, in Wise County.

Police say 36-year-old Samantha Dennis of Coeburn was driving a sport-utility that abruptly stopped after arriving at a DUI checkpoint. Police say she made a U-turn and headed west in the eastbound lane before colliding head-on with another car.

The driver of that car died at the scene. Police identified her as 32-year-old Rebecca Starling of St. Charles, Missouri. Her 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old daughter were in the car at the time. They suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Police say charges are pending against Dennis.

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